The image was bright and crisp, Shin Sumi was transported instantly.

As if she was watching the scene herself but couldn't move. Even more than just light, the Imagery Stone also provided sound. It was an experience like no other. The only difference with a real memory was that she was left devoid of divine sense.

From the moment the Imagery Stone started displaying in her mind, Shin Sumi recognized the place where the scene had been recorded.

"This is the middle of the market. Is that... Sui Lin?" a girl with a long white dress clinging to her silhouette had appeared in focus. "And there's Mua Lin coming! When was this recorded? After their fight?"

Mua Lin was approaching Sui Lin, her hands tucked inside her sleeves.

"Sister Sui..." called the petite girl. "Mua Lin?" Sui Lin had now noticed her and was checking her up and down.

Sending the question from Sui Lin's eyes, Mui Lin answered.

"My injuries are all fine now, thank you for your concern. I wanted to talk to you and... On the behalf of my brother I sincerely apologize. He acted out of his place and had Bai Fulong not been there, you..."

Not able to finish her sentence, Mua Lin dropped to her knees and bowed so low her forehead was nearly touching the ground. It was the most respectful apology she could make.

After their fight two days earlier, Mua Jin had tried to kill Sui Lin while she was exhausted and injured, caught in a rage which cultivators should be able to control.

"Get up, Sister Mua, don't bow to the floor for such a trivial matter" Sui Lin helped her to her feet again. "As you said, Bai Fulong was there, and Mua Jin paid deeply for his affront."

The image of the strange white crescent appearing, suddenly gutting Mua Jin from nowhere, was stuck in Sui Lin's eyes.

"I was already unconscious from your Cold Star Ice Whistle, but I heard that Jin'er took out his Blood Blade... You may not know it but my brother is nearly as strong as me, so how did Bai Fulong stop him in time?"

More than simply apologizing to Sui Lin, Mua Lin had come to try and piece together what happened that day after her defeat.

"That guy, he..." Sui Lin didn't know what to say, "he just appeared out of nowhere right as your brother was going to attack. He summoned a white claw or a moon crescent and the next moment your brother was already done for."

"What kind of attack was it? It broke the Blood Blade and still tore half of Jin'er's abdomen."

Sui Lin sighed "I don't know what that technique was but it's definitely a high ranked finisher. It lasted only a short amount of time and I was too weak to properly catch it but... Bai Fulong seems to have hidden his trump cards well. I fought him once before when we were still in the Shinsoo Gathering Realm, it was a hard earned victory for me."

Looking deep into Mua Lin's eyes, she continued "I don't know what kind of training this guy has been up to, but his strength is definitely amongst ours. And this technique of his... it gives me shivers just to think about it."

Sui Lin was confident that Mua Lin would not go against Bai Fulong. Despite having hurt her brother to the point that he was still in a coma with half his torso missing, she understood that it was all her brother's mistake and he deserved his punishment.

And yet, the white robed girl couldn't help but give a silent warning to Mua Lin.

The Imagery Stone chose this moment to end its transmission. That was the extent of what had been recorded on the piece of jade.

Shin Sumi had no time to wonder who had recorded the scene, or how, when a voice started talking in her head.

After the meeting between Sui Lin and Mua Lin, Fen Wudao had added his own voice to the formation.

"Sister Seventh Ghost, I just had this peculiar scene given to me by one of our Ghost elders. I don't know which one of them recorded the Imagery Stone but it is evident to me that you left quite a big impression on them."

Shin Sumi was trembling inside. What she feared had happened, the Ghost Pavilion had found out about what she did. And yet she couldn't discern any sarcasm in Fen Wudao's divine sense message.

"From the description told by Sui Lin, I can't imagine you have used anything else but the White Claw Dusk Cleaver. I have to say, even I am impressed that you managed to learn that technique proficiently in such a short time. And that would also mean that you're now in the second step of the Liquid Realm.

I'm very curious about your progress. Since you defeated Mua Jin and rendered him unable to fight for a while, you should have taken his place on the Sword Pavilion ranking and secured a place for the Cross Branch Arena."

Fen Wudao had a very bright mind. From such few clues he had basically painted a perfect picture of Shin Sumi's recent progression.

"After the Cross Branch Arena is over, would you like to exchange pointers with me, Sister Seventh Ghost? There are a few things I would like to discuss with you." After that the divine sense message ended.

Shin Sumi blinked a few times. During the entire message, Fen Wudao had remained very calm whereas she thought she would be in trouble for possibly divulging the existence of the Ghost Pavilion.

"Exchange pointers with Big Brother Fen..." Shin Sumi thought back to the only time she had done something similar. She had been instructed by the Patriarch and Fen Wudao to meet them right before they offered her a place in the Ghost Pavilion.

"Could it be that they have something in mind for me? Since I got introduced to the Ghosts and received the three scrolls I have had no contact with the Ghost Pavilion at all. Were they waiting for me to reach the second step of the Liquid Realm?"

These were just suppositions in the mind of Shin Sumi. Not bothering herself with it for too long, she eventually decided that there was no way to know for sure until the moment to meet Fen Wudao arrived.

"In the meantime I need to settle a few things."

The time had come for her to go back to the Cloud-Formation Pavilion main building. The third round for deciding the disciples' ranking was to start soon.

Shin Sumi strode into the grand hall with fifteen other disciples. They were all gauging each other silently as only half of them would remain after the end of the day.

Contrary to the previous times, though, the atmosphere was not heavy at all. To all these proud disciples, the pressure had gone down significantly.

"You're right, brother, but I wouldn't feel too dejected if I don't succeed in this round. At least we won't be sent to the Dark Fortress for secluded training."

The punishment that was the terrifying Dark Fortress no longer loomed over them, as per the words of Elder Azure Cloud.

It was the sole reason Shin Sumi had not wished to drop out of the tournament earlier, but now she was free to do so, as long as it remained convincing enough in the eyes of the Elders judging the disciples' prowess.

"Because Mua Jin was incapacitated by me while both of us were in perfect fighting condition, what's more in a Star Arena, I've secured a place in the Star-Sword Pavilion top six. There is no reason for me to continue here, unless I want a possibility at fighting myself in the Cross Branch Arena hihihi."

Shin Sumi's train of thoughts was interrupted by a gentle tap on her shoulder. Turning around, she discovered Fu Xue, her face warmed by a beautiful large smile.

"Sister Yan, I'm so excited! We made it! We'll most definitely end up in the top six! I'll get to fight the top disciples of the Star-Sword and Light-Breaker Pavilion soon!"

"Sister Fu, are you not jumping to conclusions a little bit? There are still sixteen of us, and then only the top six out of eight will remain."

"Come on don't be such a downer. This will be as easy as falling asleep, I can already tell you the names of the top six with ninety percent confidence."

Shin Sumi listened to Fu Xue's list of names. For the most part she agreed with her, having already ascertained a lot of the disciple's strengths during the previous rounds. But how could Fu Xue know that she herself would not be participating?

Another thought popped into her head suddenly.

"So you are confident you'll win against Bai Xuengen in a breeze? He's your opponent today. Have you seen his last fight?! He seemed pretty strong to me."

Fu Xue instantly stopped bubbling around. Her eyebrows dropped and her cheeks flushed in an angry red tint.

"What? You think he's stronger than me?! Sister Yan, don't joke around like this. That Bai fellow made a pretty big wave the last time but he was practically going against trash. I'll make him bite the dust teehee." Despite the harsh words, Fu Xue ended with a smile and a laugh.

Shin Sumi sighed internally. Fu Xue and her unreadable mind sometimes scared her a little bit. What happened to the very shy girl she had met during the Rising Star Tournament?

"Bai Xuengen sure is in trouble... I wish I could tell him but Yan Yan isn't supposed to know him."

Sitting down in his corner with crossed legs and hands joined together, Bai Xuengen suddenly sneezed.

Meanwhile Fu Xue was still mentally enjoying the fights to come. "I hope I'll meet him in the Cross Branch Arena" she said silently.

Shin Sumi turned her head towards her friend to ask "Who, Bai Xuengen?"

"No silly, although they may be related to one another. Bai Fulong. The last time we fought he barely beat me but I still need my revenge. I have no doubt he will be in the tournament to come."

Shin Sumi was unsure how to comment that last bit of information. Fu Xue wanted to fight her! And she didn't seem to have heard the news concerning Bai Fulong.

"Oh you will definitely see him. He secured his place in the Star-Sword Pavilion a few days ago by almost crippling one of the Mua twins."

Yan Yan had said that with a blank face, almost as a matter of fact. In front of her Fu Xue looked shocked.

"Doesn't she have any interest in the matters of the upper valley" Shin Sumi asked herself?

"Great. He's definitely much stronger than he was, so I can beat him without feeling bad."

Shin Sumi sighed once more through her curved lips. Fu Xue had one of the worst personalities she had ever encountered and yet she was someone she loved to hang with.

The fights started right after the appearance of the Elders, cutting the disciples' idle chat.

Sixteen fighters, meaning eight fights for the day. By this point only those with proven talents remained.

Jun Qian was evidently one of them, winning the first encounter in less than four minutes by using his famed candle wax magic. His opponent congealed into a block of semi-transparent grey wax, Jun Qian exited the stage without another look at him, feeling very pleased.

On his seat of honor, Master Cloud remained silent even as his direct student bowed towards him.

The third fight of the day was, for Shin Sumi, one of the main events there could be. Two people she considered friends of hers were being opposed by fate to compare their ability.

"Who am I supposed to root for?"

Fu Xue and Bai Xuengen walked up, tension already rising between the two even though they both looked very calm.

Contrarily to what she had said to Yan Yan, the girl was not taking the young man lightly. The advice given to her previously was still in her mind as she tried to gauge her opponent.

Unleashing her first attack as quickly as a lightning strike, she surprised Bai Xuengen with the Cloud Arts first form: Cold Smoke. If she could incapacitate him, even partially, from the get go, the fight would be much easier.

The smoke snakes coalesced into existence in front of him before it looked like he had even reacted. They pounced on him from different directions and then...

As soon as they reached a radius of one step around him the smoke disappeared, as if blown away by a gale wind.

In the Elders assembly of seats, Elder Purple Cloud looked intently at the young man's right hand, down by his side. His hand was faintly glowing and his fingers were pointed to his front. For Elder Purple Cloud there was now no doubt about the technique Bai Xuengen was using.

Not discouraged by the first failure, Fu Xue kept on pressing with a barrage of attacks. Cold Smoke was a relatively low level technique, but how would her opponent fare against a slightly higher leveled one?

Bai Xuengen had still not moved half a step when she decided to unleash King's Tomb, the second form of the Cloud Arts. Before the unbreachable mist could englobe the two fighters, Bai Xuengen whipped his sleeve horizontally, a wind visible to the naked eye blowing away at Fu Xue's technique.

The cloud spikes all missed Bai Xuengen who looked like some sort of deity untouchable by his opponent.

"He is using wind. It is the natural enemy of the clouds, logically." Bai Xuengen's proficiency with wind attacks and defenses was troubling Fu Xue. Even more troubling was the lack of signs on his face that would indicate if he was using a lot of Shinsoo or not.

Since Bai Xuengen was calm under any circumstance, it was hard to tell if his wind technique could go on forever or if he was spending all his energy to dispel Fu Xue's attacks. If the latter was the case, then Fu Xue could simply keep pressing on until he ran out of Shinsoo but if it wasn't... then Bai Xuengen was simply terrifying.

"Stop thinking too much, Xue" the girl said to herself, "this guy is at most Liquid Realm second step, just like you. He can't be unbeatable."

It was with renewed confidence that Fu Xue stepped back and straightened her posture. She inhaled and exhaled deeply three times before smiling at Bai Xuengen who by this point had lifted one eyebrow in confusion.

"Let's have fun. Fu Clan technique, Earth Shattering Spirit."

Fu Xue bent down and launched both her palms to the ground at the same time as Bai Xuengen sent a powerful wind blade over her head.

Light grey lines appeared on the girl's arms, transferring to the stone platform much like how she had used her stone sword when Shin Sumi first met her.

Having completely missed her with his wind blade, Bai Xuengen launched wind based attacks one after the other relentlessly. The air blasts could only be felt with divine sense very briefly, completely invisible to the naked eye, and yet they all seemed to miss Fu Xue.

Veins were now bulging on her arms, contrasting with her petite and fragile stature. Whatever the Earth Shattering Spirit was, it took time to complete but nevertheless Fu Xue didn't seem to concern herself with Bai Xuengen's attacks at all.

The young man with clenched teeth had realized by now that Fu Xue had pierced his secret. Ever since she had smiled at him, his uneasiness had been growing and he now knew why.

The stone platform was cracking and rupturing in different places around Fu Xue. By the intensity of it and the powerful Shinsoo fluctuations, it was obvious her technique would be completed soon. Even more frantic than before, Bai Xuengen summoned a massive wall of fire from a small spirit formation, then using his wind to send rippling fire waves around.

The fire now made the wind blades more deadly but also visible, it was clear that most of the attacks were flying haphazardly in different directions.

"Could it be that he can't control the precision of his attacks?"

But from the barrage of blows, at least a few ought to be sent in the right direction. One such fire wave was headed straight to Fu Xue when the magical lines on her arm straightened on the ground and lifted... A giant stone hammer!

Using the stone from the platform they were standing on, Fu Xue had taken out a large chunk of rock in the shape of a massive hammer. The broken edges were all covered by the light grey lines, forming some sort of wrapping and holding the newly created weapon under her control.

"HhhhhhhhaaaaAAAA!" Fu Xue swung the giant hammer right on time to completely crush the fire wave. Immoveable like the earth, wind couldn't even scratch its surface.

By now, all the watching disciples had grown silent, Shin Sumi included. Who could have guessed that the little Fu Xue would be able to do something as unrealistic as lifting a massive hammer made from the ground?

SLAM!

The hammer head struck down the ground hard enough to vibrate the entire platform, only a few meters from Bai Xuengen's position. With the rebound of the attack, the latter's knees bent forcefully and a spurt of blood escaped his lips.

Fu Xue was breathing heavily, obviously using a lot of energy to maintain this form of attacks but Bai Xuengen was still in a much worse shape. The hammer never struck him directly but each powerful earth shattering slam was making his complexion whiter and whiter.

After the fifth blow, Bai Xuengen fell backwards to the ground. Using this opportunity, Fu Xue lifted the hammer one last time, holding it right above Bai Xuengen's body. The head of her weapon was almost twice the size as him, looming above and plunging him into its terrifying shadow.

Two Elders stood up from their seats, ready to take action in case the hammer fell onto him. Elder Purple Cloud was on the verge of opening his lips to stop the fight, anxious not to have Bai Xuengen killed, but he didn't have to.

Smiling with conflicted feelings, Bai Xuengen was the one to speak first.

"It's your win, Sister Fu. I can't resist anymore, I'm drained."

"Bai Xuengen. You were surprisingly strong. Let's have more fun next time, okay?"